Talk:Malachite/@comment-2601:1C2:700:18EF:11A2:A8B3:AFF7:77AC-20190518204626
"How have you been holding up?" Indigo asked. Katydid sighed. "Well, I got a test. It turned out positive. And then I told my parents." Indigo winced. "I'm guessing it didn't turn out so well?" "Mum said I should abort. I'm not against abortion, but... it's Malachite's kid. I just... I have to keep Malachite's kid." "Have you tried getting a letter in?" "Multiple times. It never worked." They walked into Life Science, where Ms. Burnet was writing the lesson plan on the board. Technically, her last name was De Silva, but like a lot of the teachers at their school, she insisted that they call her by her first name. And she was definitely the coolest one---short, choppy dyed hair, stylish clothes, pretty understanding but was freakishly good at catching the troublemakers. "Take a seat," she called, turning around. "I've got an important announcement to make." "We're going to have a field trip!" someone yelled. Ms. Burnet laughed. "We're not going to have a field trip, though someone is going to be taking a pretty long vacation. Namely, me." "What? Why?" Tau exclaimed. "Me and my wife are both going to have babies this summer, and we're both taking maternal leave starting in May. And that's actually going to relate to our lesson plan for today..." In the summer. Katydid did some quick math in her head. If the timing was right, then they'd be born around the same time as hers. Maybe she could talk to her about it? It shouldn't be that big of an issue. Ms. Burnet was a really nice person, and she'd probably understand. (Slight time skip) "Well, have a great day, guys, and remember to turn in that worksheet tomorrow!" Everyone rushed towards the doors as the final bell rang. Katydid was the only one who hung back. Ms. Burnet looked up from her desk. "You need anything, Katy?" "Ye---no. Well, sort of. I mean, I want to talk to you about something." "Okay, then. Talk to me." Katydid took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant." Ms. Burnet didn't even look shocked. "It's your boyfriend's, right? Scarab's godson?" She nodded, biting her lip. "His parents are working at the palace now, and... I haven't been able to contact him yet. I just thought that maybe I could talk to you about it, because it's going to be born around the same time as yours, and... well, I kind of wanted some advice. Before and after." "Katy, I really appreciate you telling me this, but I'm not going to be at Cicada when our kids are born." "Of course you aren't," Katydid said, confused. "It's summer." "You misunderstood," Ms. Burnet clarified, a sad smile on her face. "I'm not going to be at Cicada at all next year. Or the year after that." "What... what do you mean?" "I won't be coming back after maternal leave. It's the district's unofficial way of firing me. And my wife, Silverspot, isn't going back to her job as a lawyer after her leave, either." "You both got fired?" Katydid exclaimed. "But why?" Ms. Burnet laughed bitterly. "What do you think? Queen Wasp's new degree." "You're getting fired because you're lesbian?" "No, Katy. For all her faults, Wasp doesn't care about sexuality." She sighed. "It has more to do with the fact that we're Muslim." Katydid sat down on the chair in front of her desk. "Isn't De Silva---" "My dad's from Brazil. My mum's from Pakistan. And they basically disowned me after I got married to Silverspot, so in their eyes, I'm not even Muslim, but I'm connected enough to get fired over it." Ms. Burnet fiddled with one of her pens. "Silverspot wears a hijab and is much more outspoken about issues like this, so they were more rough on her. They actually used the words laid off instead of indefinite leave," she added, a sarcastic tone laced through her voice. "That's awful," Katydid murmured. "How are you going to raise two kids if neither of you have a job." "We'll manage." She smiled. "Speaking of which, do you know whether it's a boy or a girl yet?" "Oh---I don't know. I was thinking I might name it Cricket either way. What about you?" "Boy for me, girl for Silverspot. She's naming the girl Luna, like the moth, but I haven't decided on a name yet." Katydid furrowed her brow in thought. "What about Blue? That's a good name for a kid." "Blue, huh?" Ms. Burnet considered it. "I like it." -------------- I hope you guys enjoy the little foreshadowing involving Blue, Luna, and Cricket. I may or may not add Sundew's parents in the prologue---it depends on what I'm going to do with the LeafWings. Also, I looked this one over and realized it was still kind of sad... sorry about that. Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter, and I'll post part twelve as soon as I can! ---Starry the NightWing